Christmas begins!

Ava went back to school today after our vacation and her Thanksgiving break. (I will do a post on Disney, hopefully...eventually. It would be pointless without pictures.) I reminded Ava last night that she had to go to school in the morning. Rhys said, "No! I will miss her!" Needless to say, he got used to having full access to Ava and we needed to plan a busy morning.

So we started to prep for Christmas. We had to move the dog cage around, vacuum and mop. I did an initial cleaning with the vacuum and Rhys then took over. He really was into helping. We got the tree out and set it up. He had fun fanning out the branches. I hated the old bitter yuck spray we had put on the tree in years past getting in my mouth. Our pre-lit tree has dead lights. It is now just a cluttery looking dark tree. Ava requested multi-color lights this year, so I had gotten some on this giant wheel looking thing. Rhys focused enough to stand on the other side of the tree and pass the lights back to me. It was actually impressive that at this point in time, he had paid attention for over an hour.

We then got crazy and got the ladder out and hung some lights up outside. Never in my life have I done this. It wasn't that hard at all. They might blow off with the first breeze, but oh well. He even hammered in a nail and I almost dropped a hammer on my head. It was a very efficient project.

After Ava got home, we made some snow man door hanger decorations and I spent the afternoon ignoring pleas to start putting on decorations. We waited for Justin to get home to do that. Ava was so excited to see ornaments that she recognized and remembered. She also liked seeing all the ones she has made. Rhys was bummed that he didn't have any that he had made or gotten from events. He did like playing with all the movable ornaments and singing his own version of Jingle Bells every time one had a bell of sorts on it. I am so looking forward to Christmas this year. I don't think it is going to be fancy or elaborate. I just think both of them are the right age to make it so fun.

A little story about a boy named Rhys

Here is a little story I should have posted about a month ago. We were over at a friend's house one night. They also have a two year old little boy. He and Rhys are friends from church. So the two of them were in a little corner of the livingroom playing with a tool bench. My friend Lee thinks she will be extra awesome by pretending to be a tiger that wants to eat them. She is down on the ground growling at them and taking swipes at them with her 'paw'. The two boys are not amused. They clearly have been attacked by this vicious beast before so they are actually acting scared and backing into the corner, saying, "no! no!" until Rhys steps up. You see him look at his friend and realize that he isn't going to help and this tiger beast is getting closer.

Rhys has his tool in his hand. A screwdriver. Rhys steps a little bit forward, putting himself between the tiger lady and his friend. Rhys, jabs the screwdriver forward and in a very assertive tone of voice says, "Stop or you're gonna get screwed!"

We all laughed uncontrollably for a few minutes. Poor Rhys was a little embarrassed. He obviously had no idea why we were laughing. I talked to him about it the next day and told him that I was really proud of him for trying to defend his friend...from the pretend tiger that would only tickle.

Rhys being attacked by the tiger earlier that day.

odd to even me

Believe me when I say that I am trying to say this with as much humility as possible, but...I have nice finger nails. I always have. I have pretty long nail beds and my nails don't peel or bend or curl up or under. They also grow really fast and it is actually more of an effort for me to have short nails than it is to have long ones. If you ever notice that I have short nails, you will know that I have actually bothered to do something with them...that being cut them. I have never really been one to paint my nails. I own nail polish but I probably buy a new color once every year or two. I usually only use it on my toes. I get so annoyed at how long it takes me to do them in comparison to how long it takes me to mess them up or for the paint to chip. I am also really lazy about taking nail polish off, so I have been known to walk around with little chips of paint on my nails for months. But every once in a while, I will paint my nails and be amused by all the people commenting on them or questioning if they are real for those two days before they look like crap.

Something has changed. I have been following things on pinterest. I have seen people post pictures of nail polish colors. I have been inspired. I went out and got a couple new colors. I have discovered the secret. Get good polish! For the last month my nails have been painted everyday with maybe only two days of chips. It is lasting a week before it starts to look bad. That is a good return for my effort. (It also might have something to do with the fact that I have been feeling like everyday is a bad hair/clothes/skin/body day lately, so I might as well play up my one asset...but only slightly.) I feel like a whole world has been opened to me! Here are some of my new favorites!

Black Cherry Chutney by OPI, More or less the whole Essie line, but

Mochachino and

turquoise & caicos, and

over the edge.

The one I am currently wanting is All Hail the Queen by Butter London.

I am a little worried that it would look too much like the mochachino color but I think it is will be lighter. When going through all my old polish I realized I often bought very similar colors. I clearly bought new ones because the old one didn't look right and I was just in search of a good shade. I have been very happy with my purchases so far and how they look on my hands. I am wondering how long this little habit will continue. I wonder how many colors I will try...

Well that was a very interesting post for all of you loyal readers. I am now off to work for an exciting overnight of data entry! At least I will enjoy looking at my fingers on the mouse.

Report Card

Ava has gotten her first report card and I had a parent teacher conference to discuss it. Overall she did very well. She got S+'s in just about everything. S stands for Satisfactory. She got a couple E's for Excellent for sight words and music. During the parent teacher conference her teacher described her as "thriving" and does not have any concerns. She says Ava talks too much sometimes, but it is with a girl who is normally painfully shy so she doesn't really want to stop it.

Ava has also had her first laser treatment while attending school. It went really well. The class had a question and answer session with her before hand. Most of the class told Ava they would be praying for her. The cute thing is, they really did! Tonight we were at the Annual Fall Benefit for the school and we had a couple parents from Ava's class at our table. They recognized Ava's name because their son has been praying for her and the laser surgery. Ava also brought home a picture a classmate drew of her. The little girl told Ava that she drew a picture so her family could see who they were praying for.

Deciding on what to do for school was something I agonized over for years. Seriously, years. I could not be happier with the decision we have made. It is the little things that make it so good. The librarian usually ends up being the person who opens our car door for Ava during morning drop off. She always said hello, but after about a week asked me Ava's name. She hasn't forgotten it. Every morning she says hello to Ava, even if she isn't the one opening the door. Ava has stopped being shy with her and says hi back and usually gives her a big smile. I think I am going to have to find out her name sometime soon.